The Aviation Week & Space Technology issue for 6 September 1971, pages 38 & 39, has photos and a brief discussion of the damage caused by the Apollo 15 launch.

Apollo-Soyuz

In the Spacecraft Films' DVD on the Saturn V, you can get a feel for the fury of a Saturn V launch with the pad camera films and see the aftermath of a launch.

J.L

quote:Originally posted by Paul78zephyr:Are there any published photos and descriptions of the damage to launch pads 39A/B after a Saturn V launch?

I have 10 shots that were taken after the Apollo 4 launch. Seems these type of photos rarely made it into the mainstream but I am working on it. Below are two showing Pad 39A after the first Saturn V launch.

Rick Boos

I obtained routine pad damage shots from the mechanical systems division at NASA. My photos are all from space shuttle launches including the Challenger 51-L mission and a number of the earlier missions.

Damage shows elevator doors blown off, phones ripped apart, MLP camera damage shots, fire bricks missing, and cracks on the deck of the MLP. All the photos are in color.

I might add I visited Pad 39B right after the disaster. What I found interesting was the amount of powder that was left behind from the SRBs. Also noticed flood light damage, and of course pipe damage due to the ice conditions that day.

Also have black and white shots of modifications to Pads 39A and B from Apollo to shuttle, and also of the rebuilding of the MLPs. All these photos were obtained from the mechanical systems division.

The conversion photos were going to be tossed out by NASA and I was given a box full of them, so I'm not sure what if any NASA kept of pad damage during Apollo. More then likely they have been archived.

LM-12

This film footage shows fires burning at several levels of the LUT after the Apollo 8 launch. Did similar fires occur on any later launches?

oly

I remember reading an interview on the oral history site about a Saturn V launch and how cameras were set up at the top of the LUT to film a launch.

Following the launch the techs climbed up to retrieve the film and found a huge beam had broken loose from the LUT structure and fallen down the structure, bouncing between levels. The NASA crew were shocked that the beam did not bounce into the vehicle.

I do not remember who was being interviewed and it would be great if the database was searchable.

LM-12

That was Stan Lebar talking about the LUT camera at the 360-foot level that filmed the Apollo 13 launch. The beam can be seen at the 4:37 mark.

LM-12

That "Apollo 8" film of the LUT fires might actually be the Apollo 4 launch. Look at all the debris being blown away from the launch platform.

Jim Behling

quote:Originally posted by LM-12:Did similar fires occur on any later launches?